En Sabah Nur (Earth-616)
__TOC__ Real Name: En Sabah Nur Nicknames: The Eternal One, the High Lord Former Aliases: Set (not to be confused with the primeval demon of that name or the Egyptian god Seth), Huitxilopochti, Sauru, Kali-Ma Other Current Aliases: No other known current aliases Status Occupation: Conqueror Legal Status: N/A Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of Apocalypse's existence. Marital Status: Marital status unknown Group Affiliation: Employer of Apocalypse's Horsemen, Dark Riders, former employer of the Alliance of Evil Base of Operations: Mobile, formerly a sentient starship created by the Celestials Origin Origin: Origin unknown. Place of Birth: Egypt Known Relatives: Baal (adoptive father, deceased), Holocaust (alternate universe; son, deceased), Armageddon, (alternate universe; son), Stryfe (adopted son, deceased); Clan Akkaba (descendants), Chamber (Jonothan Starsmore, descendent), Blink (Clarice Ferguson, descendent) First Appearance: (in shadow) ''X-Factor'' (Vol. 1) #5, (fully seen) ''X-Factor'' (Vol. 1) #6 History Apocalypse was born nearly five thousand years ago in Egypt as a member of the Akkaba clan. Even as an infant, he inspired fear. Ugly and malformed, he was abandoned by the tribe to die in the harsh desert sun. The baby was found by a roving band of feared desert raiders known as the Sandstormers. Most of them, too, thought the infant should die. However, their ruthless leader, Baal, somehow recognized the potential power in the child. He named him En Sabah Nur ("The First One") and raised him as his own son. As En Sabah Nur grew, he surpassed the other tribesmen in intelligence and strength. Everyone in the tribe except for Baal hated and feared him for his inhuman looks and great abilities. Nur did not understand their fear, but hardened his heart against it. Moreover, he believed in the principle that Baal and the tribe lived by, that only the fittest, tested by hardship, would, and should, survive. On the day of his tribal rite of passage into manhood, the seventeen-year-old En Sabah Nur killed three armed warriors of the tribe using only his bare hands. At this time Egypt was ruled by Pharaoh Rama-Tut. On the day of En Sabah Nur's rite of passage, Baal explained to him that Rama-Tut was no god, as most believed, but a man, who had arrived in a strange vessel. Years ago the tribe had stumbled upon the time-traveler's crashed ship, taken the injured man back to their camp, and nursed the injured and temporarily blinded man back to health. One night he wandered away, taking with him objects the tribesmen had brought from his vessel. Weeks later, his sight restored, Rama-Tut returned, wielding weapons of devastating power and leading the Egyptian army. He massacred the tribe and enslaved the survivors. Although he tortured them, no one revealed the timeship's location. In actuality, Rama-Tut was a time traveler from the far future who would later become known as Kang the Conqueror. Kang knew that Apocalypse, one of the most powerful mutants who ever lived, and the one who was destined to rule the world, had been born in ancient Egypt. Hence, Rama-Tut had gone back in time to find Apocalypse as a child, raise him, and thereby become the master of the most powerful being on the planet. On the day of his rite of passage, Baal brought the young Nur to a sacred cave whose entrance became blocked by a cave-in, trapping them underground. After a week of wandering without food or water, they found the remnants of Rama-Tut's timeship within an underground Egyptian tomb. Baal told Nur that he believed him to be a conqueror whose coming was foretold in ancient prophecies, and that Nur was destined to overthrow Rama-Tut. Then Baal died from lack of nourishment, and Nur, whose mutant physiology kept him alive, vowed to take vengeance on Rama-Tut and claim his destiny. Four weeks later he finally made his way back to the surface, but was quickly enslaved. While a slave, he kept his disfigured lips constantly covered, and Nephri, sister of Rama-Tut's warlord Ozymandias, became attracted to the mysterious slave. Eventually he had a vision of the Egyptian death god Seth, who urged him to become a conqueror. It was at this moment that Nur first manifested his superhuman powers. He revealed his face to Nephri, who rejected him for his appearance. At a time when many time-traveling super-heroes, including the Fantastic Four, the West Coast Avengers, and Doctor Strange arrived in Rama-Tut's Egypt, the Pharaoh finally came face to face with En Sabah Nur. Rama-Tut offered to make him his heir if he would swear his loyalty, and then tried to kill him when Nur refused. Nur defeated Ozymandias and Rama-Tut himself, who finally escaped back into the future, eventually to take on the identity of Kang. From then on Apocalypse plotted the conquest of the planet through bringing about wars and conflict, in which the strong would defeat and destroy the weak. Over the centuries he was worshipped by many civilizations under a variety of names. In this Universe, it is important to note, these beings also exist as separate entities. Apocalypse was most likely confused for them. It is most likely that this is the same time that Nur began to have progeny, that faithfully followed him as the Clan Akkaba. Mutants, he was certain, would one day rule the world, with him as their leader, and so he waited. Offspring of Apocolypse recieve a portion of his power, those closest related having near identical abilities. Most of what Apocalypse did during these centuries is as yet unknown. Centuries later, En Sabah Nur discovers a starship created by the alien Celestials in Mongolia. Apocalypse strikes down the ship's guardian, the immortal Saul, and enters the Ship. Unable to understand the technology inside he leaves again, searching the world for a key to the mysteries inside. He finds this key when the time-traveller known simply as the Traveller kills him. The Traveller's techno-organic blood is mixed with Apocalyse's and Ozymandias returns Apocalypse to the Ship. Inside Apocalypse uses his new techno-organic body to link to the Ship and make contact with it. He is transformed and enhanced by Celestial technology, becoming one of the most powerful mutants who will ever live. In 1459, Apocalypse led an army to fight Vlad the Impaler, and personally bested the man who would later become Dracula in single combat. At the time of the Crusades, Apocalypse arranged for the warrior Bennet du Paris to activate his latent mutant powers for the first time. Renaming him Exodus, Apocalypse made him his servant but later cast him into a deathlike trance when Exodus rebelled against him. In 1859, Apocalypse awoke from centuries of hibernation in an underground chamber in London. It was then that he first met Dr. Nathaniel Essex, who believed that through selective breeding of humans, he could bring about the rapid evolution of superhuman mutants. Apocalypse offered to transform Essex into a long-lived superhuman being himself to give him the time to further his research, but at a cost: his servitude. Essex accepted, and Apocalypse transformed him into Mister Sinister. However, the Askani, a clan of rebels against Apocalypse two thousand years in the future, transported Scott Summers and Jean Grey-Summers, also known as Cyclops and Phoenix, to 1859. There they prevented Apocalypse from assassinating Britain's Queen and Prime Minister. Apocalypse, temporarily weakened by a virus with which Sinister had infected him, went back to waiting for the proper moment to reemerge. (However, Apocalypse was awoken in 1897 to deal once more with Dracula) It came a century later, when in a short time the world became populated with a new race of superhuman mutants. Apocalypse first reappeared as the employer of the Alliance of Evil, a team of mutants who battled the original X-Factor. X-Factor was a group comprised of the original members of the X-Men. Subsequently, Apocalypse began recruiting his Horsemen. Apocalypse rescued Warren K. Worthington III, alias the Angel, from death and manipulated him into serving him as the Horseman named Death. Worthington's wings had been amputated, but Apocalypse used his advanced genetic engineering techniques to give him new wings with metal-like feathers. Eventually, however, Worthington forsook Apocalypse and returned to X-Factor, and then to the X-Men. Later, Apocalypse infected the infant son of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor, Nathan Summers, with a techno-organic virus, having recognized that if this child grew up he would be powerful enough to defeat him (and also capable of holding his essence). The Askani once again stepped in and brought the child to their own time period, two thousand years in an alternate future. 's "Psimitar".]] In the present day Apocalypse continues to conspire to rule humanity. In the alternate future in which the Askani live, Apocalypse has finally ascended to power. He became aware of the young Nathan's presence in that time, but only succeeded in kidnapping a clone of the child which the Askani had created. Not knowing this second child to be a clone, Apocalypse ceased his hunt for the real Nathan. Raised under the tutelage of Apocalypse, the clone grew up to become the terrorist Stryfe. By this time Apocalypse had to transfer his mind and powers into host bodies in order to stay alive. Since his current body had grown old and feeble, Apocalypse planned to transfer his consciousness and power into Stryfe's. As for the real Nathan, the Askani leader Mother Askani transported Cyclops and Phoenix to this future time. There, Summers and Grey raised Nathan into adolescence. After so many millennia of menacing humanity, the elderly Apocalypse finally perished in combat with the teenage Nathan, who would grow up to become the warrior Cable. To secure a new host body, Apocalypse sought to siphon the awesome energies of "The Twelve," mutants of incredible power, destined to alter the course of human history. This time, it was Wolverine who fell into the warlord's grasp. The feral X-Man fought his teammates ferociously as the Horseman Death, but broke free from Apocalypse's control. However, Wolverine and his fellow Horsemen had served their purpose. Taking advantage of the distraction afforded by their actions, Apocalypse collected the mutants he required to carry out his plan: Cyclops, Phoenix, Cable, Professor X, Storm, Iceman, Magneto, Polaris, Bishop, Sunfire, the Living Monolith and Mikhail Rasputin. The Twelve were linked to a machine that would channel their awesome energies into Apocalypse, allowing him to absorb the body of X-Man, a time-tossed teenager possessed of vast telepathic and telekinetic power. As his teammates fell around him, a powerless Cyclops shoved X-Man out of the draining circuit, merging with Apocalypse to create a new evil entity. But the telepathic Phoenix, Summers' wife, Jean Grey, detected her husband's psyche inside the composite being and prevented the X-Men from destroying it. Cyclops was presumed dead by most of his teammates; only Cable and Jean refused to believe he had perished. Investigating rumors and hearsay, they helped him reassert his mind over Apocalypse. With Jean's help, Cable exorcised the warlord and seemingly shattered his essence. However, after the event known as the M-Day, Apocalyse has apparently found himself resurrected, much to the shock of an archaeologist. Looking at the new world, Apocalypse has seen a need to act as the savior of the mutant race for once rather than just claim it. With the aid of Ozymandias, Apocalypse started by bringing to Earth the recently depowered Gazer, then pitting him against the archaelogist in a fight to the death to become the horseman War. After Gazer's victory (with the assistance of Ozymandias), Apocalypse approached the newly-legless Sunfire, offering him a slot as the horseman Famine. Apocalypse then sent his horseman Pestilence to a military installation to ingest every disease possible. : Pestilence may be either Polaris or the Leper Queen. With three horsemen, Apocalypse went to the Xavier institute, where he offered salvation (which he claims is truly meant for the first time) to the X-Men and 198 mutants seeking shelter. Many mutants, such as Mammomax, Skids, Peeper, Arclight, and Scalphunter, accepted this offer, even though in the case of some it was to counter the affects of Famine. The X-Men, however, went after Famine, who Rogue thought looked familiar. And while War fought against the only manned Sentinel left after Famine's starving affect, Apocalypse waited for the final candidate, Death, who wound up being Gambit. It is revealed that a younger, time-traveling Cable (then known as "The Traveler") was accidentally responsible for infecting En Sabah Nur with the same techno-organic virus that Apocalypse would one day infect him with, during a battle thousands of years ago. This is what led Apocalypse to be able to interface with the Celestial Ship in Mongolia. The techno-organic virus was also revealed to be the means by which Apocalypse was once again revived. With only a drop of his blood into a vat of organs, blood, etc. the virus would rewrite the genetic code of the material within to again form a body for Apocalypse. Cable also revealed that he was the one responsible for Apocalypse post-House of M revival, stating that the mutant community needed a powerful threat to rally against. Believing that the X-men would inevitably defeat Apocalypse yet again and that it would bring the remaining mutant community together, Cable judged "the risks worth the rewards". Apocalypse reminded Cable that even if he is defeated, he will always return stronger than before to which Cable responded. "Good, the world needs you to be stronger Apocalypse....It's always helped us be stronger." In fact there's still another force that struggles to keep Apocalypse alive, one that showed its cards when the immortal mutant was going to meet his final demise at the hands of the X-Men. It was discovered that the Celestials themselves lent their technology to him, requiring as payment greater sufferings later. Apocalypse was going to embrace death as an escape from his lifelong pact, when the Celestials returned him to life. The time for payment has finally come. Characteristics Height: Variable, usually 7' Weight: Variable Eyes: Blue Hair: Black Unusual Features: appears metallic at times Powers Strength Level: Apocalypse can increase his strength by drawing on outside energy sources, up to roughly Class 100. Known Powers: An Alpha-level mutant. Apocalypse is one of the most powerful mutants who ever lived. Molecular Bio-Armor (Celestial Tech Augmentation): Celestial in origin, allows him to alter the molecular structure of his body at will in order to change his form. Using this he could alter his appearance or the size of his body by taking on additional mass from a presumably extra dimensioanl source. Through this ability to alter his form, Apocalypse can give himself virtually any superhuman physical power, as he can transform his arms and fists into various melee weapons. Apocalypse's "costume" is actually part of his body, and he can psionically alter its appearance at will. Through his shape-shifting ability, Apocalypse can give himself virtually any physical power. Superhuman Strength (Celestial Tech Augmentation) Energy Generation (Celestial Tech Augmentation): ability to generate energy due to a mixture of his mutant powers and celestial technology in his body, for a number of effects. *''Energy Absorption: ability to absorb energy at a seemingly unknown level. *Superhuman Speed: by infusing his body with energy he is able to speed up his reflexes and reaction time in which to seemingly move at super speeds. It is this ability that allows him to counteract other with super-speed powers themselves. *Force Fields: ability to erect seemingly impenetrable force fields by force of will. *Concussive Blasts: ability to project deadly blasts of concentrated concussive energy. '''Telepathy (Celestial Tech Augmentation)': telepath of the first order, capable of displaying various psionic feats with the minds of others including reading and communicating with thoughts over vast distances. *''Telepathic Illusion: ability to create realistic telepathic illusions and cause people to experience events which are not actually occurring. *Telepathic Cloak: Can mask his presence from being detected by others. His abilities can at times go undetected or be counteracted by other more powerful telepaths depending on their level of skill in using their own psi abilities. He can extend these defenses to others around him as well. *Mind Link: ability to develop a mental link with any person which remains as a connection to that individual *Telepathic Camouflage: ability to mask herself, and other peoples' presence from those around him. Can telepathically disguise himself, making her appearance to those around his quite different (changing the appearance of clothing, as well as more involved disguising). *Mind Control: ability to control the minds of others upon mere concentration. *Mind Trap: ability to take another’s mind from their body and effectively trapping that mind within his own. *Mind Possession: ability to possess the mind of another, and use that beings body as your own *Mind Alteration: ability to alter the minds of others by force of will. *Mental Amnesia: ability to cause loss of particular memories, and amnesia in another person or even in a group of people *Psionic Shield: ability to erect a psychic shield for protection of himself and of others minds *Psionic Blasts: can project psionic force bolts which have no physical effects but which can affect a victim's mind so as to cause the victim pain or unconsciousness and can even kill an adversary. *Astral Projection: ability to Astral Travel and communicate with others astrally through his own will, or through contact with the thoughts and memories of others. In the astral realm, where he can use his powers to create "ectoplasmic" objects. He cannot engage in long range astral projection on the earthly plane *Mental Detection: can sense the presence of another superhuman mutant within a small but as yet undefined radius of himself by perceiving the distinctive mental radiations emitted by such a being. *Mind Transferal: able to transfer both her mind and powers into other host bodies should her own physical body be somehow killed '''Telekinesis (Celestial Tech Augmentation)': possesses telekinetic abilities enabling him to levitate and manipulate living beings, inanimate objects, and to some extent energy psionically. He can “lift” as much as 100+ tons of weight and possibly even more and can enable himself to “fly” at great speed. *''Levitation: ability to telekinetically levitate ones self or that of others by shear force of will. '''Demi-Godlike Regeneration (Celestial Tech Augmentation)': Virtually Immortal. Apocalypse has an extraordinarily long life span that has already lasted thousands of years. He can survive for weeks without food or water and can rapidly recover from injuries that would prove fatal to normal human beings. *''High Resistance: highly resistant to injury. With the Celestial modifications, this resistance to harm was amplified, although it is still possible, albeit highly difficult, to cause him injury that would not be immediately regenerated by his power. Should he suffer massive injuries that prove potentially fatal, he can enter a coma-like state of suspended animation during which he may recover from his wounds with the assistance of his Celestial technology. *Retard Aging: his regeneration retards his aging process by basically stopping it in its tracks. Apoclypse also has several superhuman powers as the result of his techno-organic infection. *'Blood of Apocalypse (Techno-Organic)' As recently revealed, Apocalypse's blood has many unique properties. With only a drop of his blood into a vat of organs, blood, etc. The virus would rewrite the genetic code of the material within to again form a body for Apocalypse. *'Technology Interface (Techno-Organic): Apocalypse is able to interface with various technologies he has at his disposal. '''Known Abilities: Apocalypse is a genius and has knowledge of certain areas of biology, primarily genetics, that is far in advance of contemporary science. This was not merely a result of his exposure to alien technology, as he was able to make significant new advances beyond the alien materials to which he was exposed. Miscellaneous Equipment: Several of Apocalypse's bases have a rejuvenation chamber. Apparently Celestial technology capable of manipulating the genes of mutants giving them altogether new abilities or augmenting the ones they already possess. (The process seemingly has the effect of warping the minds of the subjects more to apocalypse's way of thinking). Transportation: Personal teleportation device. Various Celestial-tech based ships. Weapons: No known weapons. Assuming various Celestial-tech based weaponry. Alternate Realities House of M Apocalypse agreed to side with Magnus and freed a number of mutants from the camps in exchange for Northern Africa. Later, Magnus asked him to assassinate the Black Panther, who was considered a threat for becoming close to Storm. Apocalypse, Sabretooth, Iceman, Angel, and Nightcrawler were suprised to see Prince Namor and Emperor Sunfire assisting the Panther and Storm. During their battle, Apocalypse went looking for the Panther, only to find a waiting Black Bolt. Apocalypse was believed to have been destroyed by Black Bolt's scream. Age of Apocalypse Apocalypse succeeded in taking over America in the twentieth century. Professor Charles Xavier died at the hands of his own son, Legion, long before he would have formed the X-Men. As a result, Apocalypse led mutantkind in conquering North America, reducing its human population to slaves. However, Apocalypse was ultimately doomed to failure, and perished in combat with Magneto, who had become the founder of the X-Men. Notes * It's questionable which abilites Apocalypse has shown over the years are actually his mutant abilites or the celestial technology implanted in his body. What is known is that the Healing ability (Imortallity) and superhuman strength is something he originally possessed, before coming across the time-traveller technology or the celestial tech. Related Articles * See Also * Character Gallery: Apocalypse External Links * References * OHMU #1, Jul 1989, MARVEL COMICS GROUP © * Marvel Directory ---- Category:Characters Category:Bad Characters Category:Mutant Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Egyptian Category:Living Characters